Vertical-horizontal baling press

ABSTRACT

The baling press has a horizontal portion and a vertical portion and is adapted to bale waste paper and other loose and bulky materials. The horizontal portion embodies a conventional baling chamber and a plunger operated by a hydraulic cylinder. The vertical portion embraces a pit disposed between the baling chamber and the plunger when in retracted position, with a lifter of special construction within the pit and cooperating with the end walls of the pit.

United States Patent Aluotto Feb. 22, 1972 [54] VERTICAL-HORIZONTALBALING PRESS I [72] Inventor: Dominick M. Aluotto, Brooklyn, N.Y.

[73] Assignee: Antonio Aluotto, Brooklyn, NY.

[22] Filed: Sept. 29, 1970 [21] App1.No.: 76,468

[52] US. Cl ..100/53, 100/3, 100/188, 100/192, 100/232, 100/246,100/256, 100/269,

[51] Int. Cl. ..B65b 13/02, B30b 7/04 [58] Field of Search ..100/42, 3,53, 245, 256, 269,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 250,135 11/1881 Dederick..100/3 2,476,574 7/1949 Aluotto ..100/278 UX 3,117,513 1/1964Burnettetal ..100/215 3,195,447 7/1965 Taylor .100/245 UX 3,521,5537/1970 Smolka et al. IOU/232 X FORElGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 908,4474/1954 Germany ..100/215 650,785 10/1962 Canada 100/232 536,939 12/1955ltaly ..100/3 Primary ExaminerBilly J. Wilhite Att0rneyPennie, Edmonds,Morton, Taylor and Adams [57] ABSTRACT The baling press has a horizontalportion and a vertical portion and is adapted to bale waste paper andother loose and bulky materials. The horizontal portion embodies aconventional baling chamber and a plunger operated by a hydrauliccylinder. The vertical portion embraces a pit disposed between. thebaling chamber and the plunger when in retracted position, with a lifterof special construction within the pit and cooperating with the endwalls of the pit.

5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PAIENIEBFEB22 I972 SHEET 2 OF 3 INVENTCRDominick M. Aluorro BY M w fdzw ATTORNEYS PATENTEUrmzz m2 3.643.590

sum 3 BF 3 INVENTOR Dominick M.Aluo'rro ATTORNEYS VERTICAL-HORIZONTALBALING PRESS SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The baling press is intended tobale scrap or waste materials such as wastepaper, corrugated paper,cardboard, cartons, newsprint, magazine trim, rags and other wastematerials.

The press has a horizontal frame structure with a baling chamber sectionat its left end and a hydraulic cylinder at its right end and spacedfrom the baling chamber. A roof structure extends lengthwise of theframework, particularly at the central section beneath which there is aloading pit, the roof structure advantageously extending continuouslyfrom end to end of the baling press.

The pit section also includes a steel supporting framework and it has aright-hand wall which is in approximate vertical alignment with theplunger on the piston of the hydraulic cylinder when the plunger thruthe piston of the hydraulic cylinder when the is in its retractedposition. The opposite end wall of the pit section is in verticalalignment with the entrance to the baling chamber.

The lifter, which as indicated previously. is of special construction,has a bottom wall and opposed sidewalls attached to the side edges ofthe bottom wall thus forming a structure which is U-shaped in crosssection. With the end walls of the pit the lifter forms a chamber withinwhich the material to be baled is partially compressed by the coactionof the lifter bottom and side walls, the pit end walls and the roofstructure. The lifter is raised until its bottom is level with thebottom of the baling chamber. This partially compressed material is thenfurther compressed by the operation of the plunger which moves thematerial lengthwise of the elevated lifter and into the baling chamber.After a number of repetitions of the com-. bined vertical and horizontalcompressions just described the baling chamber will be filled, and theconventional wires are placed about the bale. These wires are threadedthrough spaced horizontal parallel grooves provided in the vertical faceof the plunger and then carried around the bale.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 7 FIG. I is a side or elevational viewof the baling press with the ground or other supporting material shownin section.

FIG. 2 is a vertical section taken on line 22 of FIG. I looking in thedirection of the arrows.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the lifter.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective or isometric view of the centralportion of the baler looking from the left.

FIG. 5 is a similar view from the right and,

FIG. 6 is a view somewhat similar to FIG. 5 from the opposite side ofthe baler.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to FIGS. I and 2 the baling presscomprises a frame structure having upper horizontal channel members Iand 2 at the front and rear of the baler respectively. Parallel to thesemembers are front and rear angle members 3 and 4 at the level of theloading floor 5. Supportedv within the framework at its right endportion or section there is a hydraulic cylinder 6 having a plunger 7 atthe left end of piston rod 8. Cylinder 6 is operated by means of a fluidpump 9 which is connected through control valves (not shown) to theopposite ends of the cylinder by hose members 10 and II. The plunger 7is supported not only by piston 8 but also by a pair of rollers 12 whichare rotatably mounted on a cross rod at the upper end of a short bar 13(FIG. 2) which is welded centrally at the upper side of the plunger.These rollers 12 travel along a pair of rails 14 in the form of channelbars which are supported on the framework midway between the front andrear frame channels I and 2. At the left end of the framework there is abaling chamber l5 which will be referred to more in detail below.

The upper front and rear top frame members I and 2 are supported bypairs of front and rear vertical steel posts I6, I7, I8 and I9. A roofmember shown as a flat steel plate extends throughout the length of theframe structure from one end to the other of the top channel members Iand 2. It is provided with a central lengthwise slot 21 (FIG. 2) whichallows for the travel of plunger 7 and through which the short bar I3for the supporting rollers 12 projects.

The two vertical steel posts 17 are located adjacent the right end ofthe pit which may be designated by numeral 22. The two vertical posts 18are at the left end of pit 22 and form the entrance to baling chamber15. The roof of baling chamber 15 is formed by plate 20, and the bottomby a somewhat similar but shorter plate 23 which may be seen in FIG. 5.Plate 23 is supported at a distance above the top of bottom framemembers 3 and 4 and of loading floor 5 by means of vertical side plates24 and 25 (FIG. 4, S and 6) and a front or end plate 26.

The sides of baling chamber 15 are of conventional construction beingformed by a series of horizontal steel bars 27 on the front side(FIG. 1) and 28 on the rear side (FIG. 6). These are usually made in thefonn of I-beam sections as illustrated. At their right ends these bars27 and 28 are pivoted by bolts 29 to short projections welded on theside surface of vertical posts 18. At their right ends the side bars 27and 28 are individually supported by cuplike members 30 which in turnare supported by coil springs (not shown), one on the interior of eachcup member, these springs being fixed on the front side to a verticalchannel member 31. The bars 28 for the rear side of the baling chamberare similarly supported.

Thus as a charge of waste material is advanced into the baling chamber15 by plunger 7 the sides of the mass of waste material are compressedby the springs justmentioned and also cause the side bars 27 and 28 tobe forced'outward to some extent, pivoting on the bolts 29 at theirfront ends. A second upright channel member 32 equipped with a similarset of cuplike members and coil springs may be added on each side of thebaling chamber in order to produce greater lateral compression of thewaste material. I

In pit 22 there are four upright channel frame members, one at eachcomer. The two front channel members 33 and 34 are visible in FIG. 1 andthe two rear channel members are directly behind them. One of these,340, may be seen in FIG. 6. Front channel members 33 and 34 are securedat the bottomto a horizontal lengthwise channel member 35, a second suchmember serving to support the two rear channel members. Front and rearchannel members 35 are joined together into a framework by means ofsteel angle bars 36 shown in FIGS. I and 2.

The U-shaped lifter 37 shown in FIG. 3 is arranged for vertical movementin pit 22. Lifter 37 has a bottom 38 and front and rear sidewalls 39 and40. To provide the strength necessary to compress the waste materialthese walls may be made inv a two layer or double construction as shownin FIGS. 2 and 3 where the bottom 38 and each side wall 39 and 40 isconstructed of two layers of sheet metal separated and also joinedtogether by a plurality of spaced steel bars 41 which extend lengthwiseof the lifter from the left' side thereof to the right. These bars areshown as rectangular bars but if desired bars of other cross section maybe used.

In order to operate lifter 37 upwardly and downwardly in pit 22 alengthwise supporting bar 42 is welded at its upper edge beneath bottom38 and the ends of such bar project to the left and right respectivelyand are appropriately connected to endless chains 43 as indicated bydotted lines in FIG. I. The lower end portions of chains 43 engagesprockets which are fixed to a shaft 44. The upper ends of the chainspass over individual sprockets 45 and 46 which rotate freely on shortshafts supported on the lower angle members 3 and 4 of the apparatusframework. An electric motor 47 drives shaft 44 and is connected theretoby means of an endless chain 48 and an appropriate speed-reducing unit49.

In order to form a closed compression chamber within the lifter 37 pit22 is provided with end walls. Each of these walls at the right and leftof the pit comprises a pair of similar steel plates 50 (FIG. 2) whichare appropriately fixed in position on the framework of the pitstructure and are spaced apart centrally so as to leave a channel 51 forthe passage of the end extensions of supporting member 42 for lifter 37.The construction just described is shown in FIG. 2 for the end wall atthe right end of pit 22. The wall at the left end is similarlyconstructed. These two end walls are each provided with an extensionplate 52 so as to raise the top edges of the walls to the level of thelower edge of plunger 7 on one side and to the bottom of the entrance tobaling chamber 15 on the opposite side.

When lifter 37 is in its lowermost or bottom position the tops of itsside walls 39 and 40 are level with the loading floor (FIG. 3) so thatit is an easy matter to introduce the waste material into the pit andthe U-shaped lifter. When the lifter is somewhat less than full and theplunger 7 has been withdrawn to the right where it enters into areceiving cavity 53 shown in FIG. 4, motor 47 is operated to raiselifter 37. This raises the waste material and as the top edges of thesides 39 and 40 rise above the roof plate 20, as indicated by the dottedlines in FIG. 2, the material is compressed, being confined between thesidewalls of the lifter the end walls 50 of the pit and the extension52and surface of plunger 7. The material may spill over at the left of thelifter somewhat into the entrance of baling chamber 15. This compressioncontinues until the bottom 38 of the lifter reaches the level of theentrance to the baling chamber and the bottom of plunger 7 which is thelimit of the upward movement of the lifter, shown by the dot and dashlines in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Thereupon plunger 7 is operated by hydraulic cylinder 6 and moves thepartially compressed material into the end portion of baling chamber 15.Skirt portions 54 which are extensions at the bottom of the sidewalls 39and 40 of lifter 37 are provided as a safety feature to prevent anoperator from placing his toes beneath the bottom of lifter 37.

The lifter is guided in its vertical up and down movement by meansof twopairs of rollers 55 and 56 which are suitably mounted on the frameworkof the apparatus and engage the sidewalls of the lifter. The lifter 37is provided with suitable electronic control for its operating motor 47which includes a manually operated starting button (not shown), andswitches 57 and 58 which automatically stop the lifter at its top andbottom positions respectively. Similar control is provided for operatingthe valve which controls the flow of fluid pressure to and from thehydraulic cylinder 6. This control includes limit switches 59 and 60which stop the movement of plunger 7 in its movement towards the leftand right respectively.

It will be understood that each amount of waste material received in pit22 is compressed in two stages, an initial partial compression such aseffected by the lifter 37, and the complete compression such as producedby plunger 7. it will also be understood that the successive operationsof the lifter and plunger are repeated to place sections of compressedwaste material in the baling chamber until the baling chamber is filled.

When the baling chamber has been filled as indicated in FIG. 5 plunger 7is left in position until baling wires 6] are applied. This is done bythreading the open ends of the wires through crosswise channels 62 whichare provided in plunger 7. With the loop ends of the wires leftprojecting as shown in FIG. 5 the free ends are carried around the backside of the bale between certain of the bars 28 after which they areswung around the opposite end of the bale and brought back to the loops63 to which they are secured.

I claim:

1. In a baling press, a horizontal frame structure embracing,

a. a hydraulic cylinder and plunger section,

b. a baling chamber section, and

c. a pit section disposed between said hydraulic cylinder and balingchamber sections,

(1. said frame supporting a roof structure extending continuously fromthe plunger of the. hydraulic cylinder section when in retractedposition throughout the pit section and to the baling chamber section,

c. said pit section having stationary vertical end walls ad- 'acentrespectively the said retracted plunger and the ront of said balingchamber section, each of sald end walls extending from the bottom ofsaid pit to the level of the bottom of said plunger and to the bottom ofsaid baling chamber respectively, and

f. a lifter which is vertically reciprocable within said pit, saidlifter having bottom and sidewalls forming with said stationary endwalls a loading and compressing area,

g. means for raising and lowering said lifter, the raising movementthereof causing compression against said walls and roof structure ofwaste material placed within the pit, the bottom of the lifter beingraised to the level of the bottom of said baling chamber and of saidplunger and h. means for actuating said hydraulic cylinder to cause theplunger thereof to move between said roof structure and the bottom ofthe raised lifter and between the two sidewalls of the lifter to advanceand further compress said material and move the same into said balingchamber.

2. A baling press according to claim 1 wherein the roof structure is acontinuous flat plate.

3. A baling press according to claim 2 in which the roof structureextends throughout the pit and baling chamber sectrons.

4. A baling press according to claim 1 in which a loading floor for thepit section is arranged at an elevation below the level of the bottom ofthe baling chamber and said plunger, the lifter being provided at leaston one side, with a skirt portion which extends to the level of theloading floor when the lifter is in its uppermost position.

5. A baling press according to claim 1 in which the plunger is providedwith a plurality of horizontal grooves in its forward face so thatbaling wires may be applied across the rear face of a bale before it isreleased by the plunger.

1. In a baling press, a horizontal frame structure embracing, a. ahydraulic cylinder and plunger section, b. a baling chamber section, andc. a pit section disposed between said hydraulic cylinder and balingchamber sections, d. said frame supporting a roof structure extendingcontinuously from the plunger of the hydraulic cylinder section when inretracted position throughout the pit section and to the baling chambersection, e. said pit section having stationary vertical end wallsadjacent respectively the said retracted plunger and the front of saidbaling chamber section, each of said end walls extending from the bottomof said pit to the level of the bottom of said plunger and to the bottomof said baling chamber respectively, and f. a lifter which is verticallyreciprocable within said pit, said lifter having bottom and sidewallsforming with said stationary end walls a loading and compressing area,g. means for raising and lowering said lifter, the raising movementthereof causing compression against said walls and roof structure ofwaste material placed within the pit, the bottom of the lifter beingraised to the level of the bottom of said baling chamber and of saidplunger and h. means for actuating said hydraulic cylinder to cause theplunger thereof to move between said roof structure and the bottom ofthe raised lifter and between the two sidewalls of the lifter to advanceand further compress said material and move the same into said balingchamber.
 2. A baling press according to claim 1 wherein the roofstructure is a continuous flat plate.
 3. A baling press according toclaim 2 in which the roof structure extends throughout the pit andbaling chamber sections.
 4. A baling press according to claim 1 in whicha loading floor for the pit section is arranged at an elevation belowthe level of the bottom of the baling chamber and said plunger, thelifter being provided at least on one side, with a skirt portion whichextends to the level of the loading floor when the lifter is in itsuppermost position.
 5. A baling press according to claim 1 in which theplunger is provided with a plurality of horizontal grooves in itsforward face so that baling wires may be applied across the rear face ofa bale before it is released by the plunger.